People News: QBE, Novarica, MEMIC

QBE North America announced that Carla Owens joined the organization as senior vice president, Operations for the Specialty Business Group. Based in New York City, Owens will report to Jeffrey S. Grange, president, Specialty Insurance, QBE North America.

In this new role, Ms. Owens will manage the design and implementation of the Specialty Operating Platform (SOP). This critical business technology project will deliver core processing capabilities across policy administration and billing functions for QBE’s Specialty Insurance business, which includes Accident & Health, Aviation, Cyber, Healthcare, Inland Marine, Management Liability and Professional Lines, Programs, Surety, Trade Credit and Transactional Liability practices. The platform will also be integrated with existing financial, customer, processing and policy systems.

A proven business program manager with a depth of expertise across Specialty Insurance product lines, Owens has a track record of success launching, directing and managing large-scale programs and projects to drive operational, underwriting and profit improvement.

Prior to joining QBE, she spent 15 years at Chubb. Starting as an executive protection underwriter, she quickly advanced to the position of executive protection leader, where she was responsible for underwriting profit and loss results and marketing of a $60 million Management Liability portfolio. Later, as the assistant vice president, Profitability Indicator Business Project manager, Owens worked as the business lead for the development and implementation of predictive models to support risk selection and pricing for Specialty coverage lines and segments. Most recently, she served as vice president, Small Business Solution Program manager, responsible for a $30 million program of work that included predictive modeling, renewal processing and online quoting portal projects.

Novarica, a Boston-based research and advisory firm focused on insurance technology strategy, announced that Jim Klotz has joined the firm as a vice president of research and consulting.

Prior to joining Novarica, Klotz spent fifteen years as senior vice president and CIO of PMA Companies, where he led efforts to replace all core legacy technology, establish a corporate call center, introduce a risk management information system, and manage operational areas. He also spent nearly twenty years in various leadership IT assignments at Traveler’s Insurance, including overseeing actuarial, billing and collections, and claims systems. He additionally served as VP Claims, Strategic Operations and Systems for Selective Insurance. More recently, Klotz has worked as an independent consultant providing strategic counsel to P/C insurers and solution providers.

Klotz can be reached directly at jklotz@novarica.com.

Workers’ compensation specialist The MEMIC Group announced the appointment of Randy Morehouse as safety management consultant. Morehouse will join safety management consultants Jennifer Campbell, David Darnley and Rob Sylvester in providing safety training services and advice to MEMIC’s growing customer base in New York.

With more than 10 years of environmental health and safety experience, Morehouse was the Environmental Health and Safety manager at D&W Diesel in Auburn, New York prior to joining MEMIC and has experience in industrial printing as well as the hospitality industry.